Fee confusion moves local 9/11 event out of downtown

If you go downtown Monroe tonight in hopes of finding a motorcycle rally in memory of Sept. 11, 2001, the event actually happened Saturday night at Gravel Pit Pub and Grub in Frenchtown Township.

Paula Wethington

If you go downtown Monroe tonight in hopes of finding a motorcycle rally in memory of Sept. 11, 2001, the event actually happened Saturday night at Gravel Pit Pub and Grub in Frenchtown Township.

The change in plans, and the reason behind it, has resulted in an uproar in the community during the past couple of weeks. One of the organizers, Ron Navarre, plans to be at the usual spot tonight to explain to anyone who shows up what happened.

But if all goes as expected, the event will return to Loranger Square in 2013.

?Next year, this will happen as business as usual,? Mr. Navarre said. In addition to the logistical efforts he undertook to get this year?s backup event in place, he is a drummer with the Kardiak Arrest band that is traditionally part of the program.

The gathering, called ?9-11 Never Forget,? is a time for motorcycle enthusiasts to assemble and show their remembrance of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. The highlight is a ?moment of noise? at 9:11 p.m., in which bikers rev their engines loudly. There also is live music and other activities.

The bike rally has been held Sept. 11 every year since at least 2008, according to Monroe Evening News archives.

Mr. Navarre, 54, said he was personally touched by this event and sees a lot of comparisons to other tragic days in America?s history such as the attack on Pearl Harbor.

?Younger people don?t realize how important that date was in history,? he said about Sept. 11, 2001. ?It is a big deal.?

The bike rally recruited participation mostly via word of mouth. , Mr. Navarre said nearly 1,000 bikers had attended in 2009 and 2010. Attendance at the 2011 event was lighter because of inclement weather.

Some people, according to phone calls and Facebook messages to The Monroe Evening News, had been under the impression this was a city-sponsored event. But that never was the case, as an ad hoc comittee had put the plans together every year.

The event did, however, have the involvement and support of city firefighters in addition to that of the area motorcycle enthusiasts.

But this, plans had to be changed.

The event request was filed Aug. 24, according to city records. There is a 60-day timeline in which the city requests such applications, but it went into review, according to City Manager George Brown.

A city policy that went into effect in 2008 sets out the procedures for event fees. There is no waiver of the fees unless the city is a co-sponsor of the event, Mr. Brown said.

The cost is based on a formula that looks into the actual expenses that the city incurs.

This year, the quoted estimate was around $1,370 for three officers and a supervisor to be on duty.

That?s more than in previous years. Mr. Brown found references in the files of a $775 event fee quote in 2010 and an $874 event fee quote in 2011. Tom Moore, chief of police and director of public safety, said a different billing procedure went into affect about a year ago that provided a more accurate number for salary and benefits when additional duties are involved.

It was not known late Monday whether those expenses were billed and paid after the previous events, but that is the procedure.

?They should have been billed,? the city manager said.

Mr. Navarre said he went to the Sept. 4 Monroe City Council meeting to verify what he started to hear about the special event costs. When he realized that a cost had to be paid to hold the event downtown, that?s when a change of plans started to begin.

?It was too short of a notice to make it happen as usual,? Mr. Navarre said.

Joe Sauro, owner of Gravel Pit, offered to host and organizers did what they could to get the word out about the change in date and location.

?This was a stop gap operation,? Mr. Navarre added.

Saturday?s event was held with close to 300. Three bands performed. About $500 was raised for Great Lakes Burn Camp for Kids, which is the designated charity of the Monroe Firefighters? Association. That?s lower than usual for the event, Mr. Navarre said, but not surprising with the lower attendance.

Given what happened this year, Mr. Navarre said more organization and planning will take place for 2013.

He?s convinced that sponsors will come forward to pay the event fee, if there is enough time to seek out those individuals and businesses.

As far as tonight goes, Mr. Navarre will greet any bikers who arrive downtown at the usual location and talk with them. He?s asking them not to rev their engines at 9:11 p.m., but instead to depart with a ride out of town at that time.

?Please show respect,? he added.

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